Vacuum systems are commonly used in industry for testing, inspection, and metrology. A vacuum system can be used, for example, to assess whether a product design and/or a manufacturing process is sufficient to ensure that the product conforms to standards of load or stress resistance. In another use, a product surface can be exposed to cyclic loading from a vacuum to test a resistance of the product to fatigue. During destructive testing, resistance to a vacuum stress can be measured using an increasing vacuum applied to a product until the product fails. During non-destructive testing or inspection, stresses can be applied to some or all articles from a production lot using a vacuum system to ensure that the articles have been properly manufactured.
A vacuum system that allows testing modes and conditions not available with conventional system designs would be a welcome addition to the art.